Iris de Balme, the star of Sean Curran’s Hatford stables, near Stanford in the Vale, is to miss the John Smith’s Grand National on Saturday, April 10.

The 2008 Scottish National winner was scratched from the Aintree spectacular at the latest entry stage on Tuesday.

It comes after the ten-year-old disappointed in his last two outings.

Iris de Balme was last of the 11 finishers behind Wogan in the Grimthorpe Chase at Doncaster, before being pulled up in the Midlands Grand National – won by Synchronised – at Uttoxeter on Saturday.

Roulez Cool, from Robert Waley-Cohen’s Edge Hill yard, near Banbury, was also one of the 23 horses taken out of the National on Tuesday.

The seven-year-old looked beaten when being brought down four fences from home in the Christie’s Foxhunter Chase at the Cheltenham Festival on Friday.

But Palypso de Creek, from Charlie Longsdon’s yard, near Chipping Norton, now looks set to face the starter.

Longsdon was anxious that the seven-year-old, who finished unplaced behind Buena Vista in the Pertemps Final at Cheltenham last Thursday, wouldn’t make the cut.

But now he is 46th in the list, and needs just six above him to drop out in order to line up.

John Smith's Grand National (Coral betting): 8-1 Big Fella Thanks, Tricky Trickster, 10-1 Mon Mome, 14-1 Vic Venturi, 16-1 Black Apalachi, Niche Market, The Package, 20-1 Backstage, Character Building, Snowy Morning, State Of Play, 25-1 bar